2025 has been brutal for TV fans. From What’s Happening!!’s sass to The Cosby Show’s charm, we’ve lost icons who filled our screens with life. Each name reminds you why reruns still hit harder than reboots. These African American actors made television worth watching—and saying goodbye hurts. Here is a list of African American TV stars who died in 2025.
Floyd Roger Myers Jr
Floyd Roger Myers Jr. made his entrance as young Will in Fresh Prince season 3’s “Will Gets Committed,” then played Marlon Jackson in a 1992 TV miniseries. He co-founded Fellaship Mens Group in Atlanta, helping guys drop the tough-guy act and actually talk. A heart attack ended his run at 42.
Ananda Lewis
Ananda Lewis, who made being real cooler than any MTV trend, died on June 11, 2025, at 52 after battling breast cancer. She once said, “Authenticity lasts longer than fame.” She proved it.
Kimberly Hébert Gregory
Kimberly Hébert Gregory, who made every scene in Vice Principals worth rewatching, died on October 3, 2025, at 52. Her cause of death is still unknown, leaving fans speechless.
Danielle Spencer
Danielle Spencer, who turned Dee Thomas into TV’s funniest tattletale on What’s Happening!!, died on August 11, 2025, at 60 from stomach cancer. She never dimmed.
Lynn Hamilton
Lynn Hamilton, who gave Sanford and Son its heart as Donna Harris, died on June 19, 2025, at 94 of natural causes. She made television warmer.
Karen Silva
Karen Silva, a 17-year-old The Voice Kids standout, died in Volta Redonda, Brazil, from a hemorrhagic stroke. Her team said, “Karen was a symbol of empowerment.”
Khadiyah Lewis
Khadiyah “KD” Lewis, known from Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, has died, her brother confirmed. The entrepreneur behind three booming ventures turned hustle into heritage.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who made Theo Huxtable unforgettable on The Cosby Show, drowned on July 20 while vacationing in Costa Rica. He later starred in Malcolm & Eddie and The Resident, proving talent ages well.
Kirk Medas
Kirk Medas, the Floribama Shore star who could turn chaos into comedy, died on May 2 at 33 after two weeks in a Miami ICU battling necrotising pancreatitis.
Kenneth Washington
Kenneth Washington, who brought quiet strength to Hogan’s Heroes, Star Trek, and Westworld, died on July 18 at 88 from cardiopulmonary arrest and prostate cancer. He later taught film representation, shaping storytellers beyond the screen.
Henry Fambrough
Henry Fambrough, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and founding member of The Spinners, died peacefully at 85. From 1954 to 2023, he kept soul alive—and even popped up on Laverne & Shirley and Cos.
Joshua Allen
Joshua Allen, who won So You Think You Can Dance season 4 at 18, has died at 36. The 2008 champ danced with Stephen “tWitch” Boss in Step Up 3D and Footloose, leaving rhythm stitched into pop culture.
Mickey Lee
Reality TV personality Mickey Lee died on December 25, 2025, after multiple cardiac arrests. She was 35. Fresh off season 27 of Big Brother, which aired summer 2025, Lee survived to Week 8. Viewers argued nonstop. Love her mess or hate it, you still watched. That mattered more than polls.
Donyelle Jones
Donyelle Jones packed so much life into 46 years. Born July 3, 1979, in LA, she hit national fame in 2006 on Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance, finishing third but instantly unforgettable. She acted too, popping up in Be Cool and Spirited. Then cancer showed up in 2016, stage 3C and cruel. Her family called her “A wife. A daughter. A sister. A friend. And a warrior who kicked cancer’s ass every single day she was here.”
Lee Weaver
Lee Weaver, 95, died September 22, 2025 in Los Angeles. You’ve seen him everywhere: The Cosby Show, Hill Street Blues, Easy Street, and voicing Alpine in G.I. Joe. Watch him as the Blind Seer in O Brother, Where Art Thou? He served four years in the U.S. Army during the 1950s.
Olga James
Olga James, born 16 February 1929 in Washington DC, lit up Carmen Jones (1954) with Harry Belafonte. She later popped up in The Bill Cosby Show and Sealab 2020. She married Cannonball Adderley, then Len Chandler. She passed away in Los Angeles on 25 January 2025 at 95.
Marlene Warfield
Marlene Warfield, 83, died of lung cancer on April 6, 2025 in a Los Angeles hospital. You remember her as Laureen Hobbs in Network. She matched James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope and popped up on Maude and Little House on the Prairie.
Reginald Carroll
Baltimore comic Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, 52, known from Showtime at the Apollo and The Parkers, died after an August 20 shooting in Southaven, Mississippi. Police arrested a suspect. Carroll hustled on screen too, starring in Rent & Go (2022) and producing Knockout Kings of Comedy in 2023. You deserved more laughs, Reggie.
Clifton Jones
Clifton Jones, born in St Andrew, Jamaica, showed up in London in 1958 chasing acting dreams and somehow ended up monitoring a Moonbase. Fans remember him as David Kano from Space: 1999, the pricey sci-fi show that ruled British TV from 1975 to 1977. Anderson Entertainment wrote, “We’re sad to hear of the passing of actor Clifton Jones…” He popped up everywhere: The Professionals, Emergency Ward 10, even Star Trek: The Next Generation. Eighty-seven years on this planet. One season on the Moon. You probably saw him more times than you realised.
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